If you have your Bible, it would be helpful to have it open at Exodus chapter 14. It's a very famous account of Israel experiencing a very scary, uncomfortable situation. Last time we were in this series, we saw how God chose Moses to tell Pharaoh to let God's people go. God's people were slaves in Egypt, and they had been for many years. But finally, God answered their prayers, and he sent Moses to go and tell Pharaoh. that God commanded him to let his people go and if you've been following the reading scheme you've read how Pharaoh did not want to and he repeatedly hardens his heart and refuses to listen to God and God sends ten plagues on the Egyptians getting increasingly worse until eventually Pharaoh relents after the death of his firstborn son and the firstborn son of everyone in the land of Egypt who had not put the blood on the doorpost and lintel and Finally, the Israelites are able to escape from Egypt and Moses leads them out and they have finally escaped the clutches of Pharaoh and they're journeying towards the promised land that God has given to them. But they hit a problem almost immediately. A problem in the shape of the Red Sea. a large expanse of water. And it's not just the water that is the problem. In front of them there is the Red Sea, which is blocking their path ahead of them, but then they hear the trample of horses' hooves and chariot wheels behind them, and they see with horror that Pharaoh has come with his army. He's changed his mind about letting them go free and he has hemmed them in from behind. In front of them is an uncrossable ocean. Behind them is an angry pharaoh bereft of his firstborn son and with a huge army. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation similar to that. I suspect not. It's hard to think of a more terrifying situation to be in. And that's exactly what the Israelites feel. You can see this in verse 10 of the passage we read. It says, The children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than we should die in the wilderness. The Israelites are terrified and quite often what happens when people are terrified is they get angry and the Israelites direct their anger at Moses and they say, why have you led us into this dead end? Why have you led us out here into the wilderness to either drown in the Red Sea or be slaughtered by Pharaoh? They're bitter, they're scared, they are angry at the situation that they find themselves in. Perhaps you can relate to that bitterness, that fear, that anger. Perhaps you haven't experienced a life and death situation like the Israelites were experiencing here, but perhaps you've experienced your own. red sea experience. It might be a financial red sea where on one hand you've got a great debt to pay and then on the other hand you've also got another great debt to pay and you cannot see how you're going to navigate the situation. You don't have the funds to pay and you feel utterly hopeless and you don't know what to do. Perhaps it's a Red Sea in your family. Some difficulty, a child who is wayward or a parent who is unsympathetic or a sibling who you have a difficult relationship with and you don't know the way out. You feel completely at a loss. You don't know what to do. There are many other kind of red seas we can face in our career, with our health, any number of different ways where we can feel like the Israelites, afraid and bitter and even angry and completely at a loss, not knowing what to do. If you've ever been in a situation like that yet, don't worry, you will be at some point. Such things happen to all of us at some point in our lives. What I want to do for the rest of our time this evening is let God speak to whatever situation we may be facing or situation we may face in the future and listen to God as he helped Israel in their literal Red Sea situation. to see how he can also help us when we face hopeless, scary situations in our lives as well. Because the wonderful thing about scripture is we get to hear God speak. In our lives, we walk by faith and not by sight. But in scripture, we get to see our God. We get to hear what he says. And you can hear what God says through Moses in verse 13. The Israelites are complaining, they're angry at Moses, they're afraid, they're terrified. But look what we read in verse 13. It says, and Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. God tells them, do not be afraid. These Egyptians behind you that you're so afraid of, you will see them again no more because God will accomplish your salvation. You just need to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God tells them to not be afraid. And there were two reasons in this passage why Israel do not need to be afraid. Perhaps there's more, but there are at least two reasons why God says to the people of Israel, do not be afraid, even though you've got a deep red sea in front of you and you've got a vicious Egyptian army behind you. The first reason that God tells them not to be afraid is because he knew that this was going to happen all along. The same god who sent the plagues on Egypt and led them out of Egypt also knew that they were going to meet the Red Sea. and they're going to have the Egyptians chase them. You can read that in verses 1 to 3. Look what we read. It says, Now the Lord spoke to Moses, and this is before they've even reached the Red Sea. It says, Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp before Pi-ahiroth, between Migdal and the sea, opposite Baal-zethon. You shall camp before it by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are bewildered by the land, the wilderness has closed them in. God knew what Pharaoh would say. God knew that when the Israelites took this route, to the Red Sea, he knew that Pharaoh would see it and he would say, here's my chance. Here's my opportunity to reap revenge on these Israelites who have caused me so much trouble. God wasn't taken by surprise that the Egyptians would do this. He knew. that it was going to happen all along and he told Moses. Notice also that God says to Moses in verse two, speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Ahiroth. And I take that to mean that God didn't just tell Moses, but Moses then told all the people as well. I don't see any reason why Moses would not have told the people what God had told him, that Pharaoh was going to think in this way. They knew as well as God did, because God told them. And yet, when it happened, they were afraid. When they saw the Egyptian army with their own eyes, and they saw the Red Sea with their own senses, they were terrified and angry. even though God through Moses had already told them that it was going to happen. You might think, well, how foolish? How could the children of Israel be so foolish to be afraid when something happened that God said was going to happen anyway? Isn't that like us? Isn't that exactly like us? We're no different from the Israelites. God has told us many things that are going to happen. Perhaps not in exact detail. He's perhaps not told you what is going to happen next Tuesday. But Jesus has said that in this world we'll experience tribulation. God has told us that before the end, there'll be wars and rumors of wars, and there'll be earthquakes and fires and disasters in diverse places. And he tells us, do not be afraid. These things must happen. He's told us these things are going to happen. And yet, how do we respond so often when we see those things with our own eyes? Well, like the Israelites, we can be afraid, we can fret, we can worry. We're no different from the Israelites. God spoke to them through Moses. God speaks to us through Moses, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Peter, and Paul, and John, and Matthew, and Mark, and all the authors of scripture. Give us God's word. But the problem is we so often do not listen. And so we're not prepared when things God has promised will happen, happen. That's why they were afraid, but they didn't need to be. God knew it was going to happen from the start. Nothing catches God by surprise. But we can go even deeper than that. There's a second reason which is, as I say, deeper than that first one. They needn't be afraid because God knew it was going to happen, but the second reason they didn't need to be afraid was because God caused it to happen. It wasn't just that God kind of knew and had overheard Pharaoh and what Pharaoh was gonna do. Did you notice actually God caused this to happen? Look at verse four. I'll read from verse three. God says to Moses to tell the people, for Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are bewildered by the land. The wilderness has closed them in. Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will pursue them. And I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so. Verses two to four of Exodus 14 tell us that God deliberately led the Israelites into this dead end, into the path of the Red Sea, so that Pharaoh would respond in this way, so that God would gain honor over Pharaoh. So that all the Egyptians might know that he is God and not Pharaoh. It's quite amazing to contemplate. God deliberately led the Israelites into a very scary, very difficult, very uncomfortable situation, to say the least. but he did it for a reason, that the Egyptians might know that he is God and not they. And the same is true for us today. I don't know what difficult situation you might be in today, but it's possible. And in fact, I'll say it's certain if you are a child of God. that whatever situation you are in, God has led you there. Now, your sin may be involved along the way, but your sin cannot thwart God's purposes. Do you remember how we looked at Joseph a few weeks ago? Joseph's brothers hated him. They envied him. And because of their hatred and their envy, they threw him down a well and eventually sold him into slavery, into Egypt. That's really what started off this whole chain of events. They did it because they hated Joseph and they envied him. But if you read the book of Psalms, we read that it was God who sent Joseph into Egypt. Doesn't mean what the brothers did wasn't evil and wrong. But it does mean that God is able to even use the sins of Joseph's brothers to accomplish his purposes. And we see it here as well. God uses this uncomfortable, difficult, unpleasant, frightening experience that the Israelites are going through and he uses it for his glory. And God can do the same for us as well. You might be in a financial black hole. You might have great health difficulties and concerns. You might have family difficulties which you cannot surmount. But it might be, it could be, that God has led you precisely into that situation for his glorious purposes as he led the Israelites into, as it seemed, the Red Sea. Now some Christians don't like to hear that. They don't like to hear that God might lead us deliberately into difficult situations. Some Christians like to think that no, God lives to get us out of difficult situations. He's there so that we might never experience such things. But if you've lived any length of time, you know that's not what life is like. Life is often hard, it is often difficult. And this is why it's so dangerous to try and shape God into a God of our own liking, a God who will remove all problems out of our path, because if you make God into that kind of image, what are you going to do when you hit a problem, when you hit a difficulty, when you face dark, dangerous situations in life? then you're only faced with two options, either God is cruel or God is impotent. Because he hasn't rescued you out of that situation, at least he's led you into it. But that's not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is a God who uses. dark and difficult situations and can turn them for his glory. We see that of course chiefly in the life of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus was God's, is God's beloved son. No one enjoyed the love of God more than Jesus Christ. And yet, nobody suffered more than Jesus Christ. Nobody went to a darker place than Jesus Christ. God can sometimes show his love in ways that seem strange to us. But there's comfort in that. There's comfort in knowing that no matter how bad life seems to get, how scary life seems to get, God can have a purpose in it. He hasn't dropped the ball. He hasn't failed in some way. It may be simply part of his plan he had all from the beginning. Might be a story I read about a pastor in Texas and he was involved in a cycling accident in 2018. He was riding past a stretch of road which was undergoing repair and he was hit by another car and he was thrown off his bicycle and he severely damaged his hip and you'd think what a terrible situation, what a horrible event to experience and it surely was. But he was left thanking God for that crash, because when the doctors at the hospital ordered a CT scan to check for concussion, they discovered that this pastor had a malignant tumor on the front of his brain. a malignant tumor which would not have been discovered, humanly speaking, unless he had had the accident and the doctors were able to operate and provide treatment. that pastor is now cancer free. But I just use that as just one small example of how something which seems awful and was awful and was no doubt very difficult to experience for that pastor as he experienced that crash. And yet, God used it for good. In short, be slow to judge God. be slow to respond the way the Israelites responded here. When they're faced with this dark, difficult situation and they respond with anger to Moses saying, why have you led us into this place? Remember that God can have purposes that you cannot imagine. God knew this was going to happen and God planned for it to happen and he had his purpose in it. And there is a wonderful peace and security which can come from that. Knowing that whatever, Whatever happens to us in life does work together for good. That's what scripture says, isn't it? All things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are trusting him. And the only way that verse can be true is if God is in ultimate control of all things. If he wasn't, He could never promise that all things work together for good to those that love God. And we can see in this passage that is exactly what happens. The Israelites are led into this terrifying situation. We'd seen from Egyptian army behind and they responded bitterness and anger. but God has a wider purpose. Look again at verse 13. It says, and Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. God, in essence, says to them, do not be afraid. This is all part of the plan. I have it under control. You won't have to do anything. Just stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. This is all part of my wonderful plan. Jesus has told us similar. Jesus has said to us, go into all the world and preach the gospel. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. He warns us that we will have tribulation and difficulty and anxieties and stresses and all these things. But he says, I will be with you to the end of the age. That's really what the book of Revelation is all about. The whole point of the book of Revelation isn't to give you a detailed roadmap of the future like a kind of tarot card or horoscope. The purpose of Revelation is to encourage us that the end has already been written. We know how it ends and it ends with Christ winning and all his people arriving safely in heaven. That's what the book of Revelation is all about. We simply, in that sense, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. It might be a bumpy ride. It might not feel like victory all the time, but that is the way that God works. You will never experience anything that God is not leading you into and he will lead you out of. We do not need to be afraid. But notice what God says next, and this is what I want to close with. He tells them to not be afraid, to stand still, to see the salvation of the Lord. Verse 14, he says, God says to Moses, the Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. But then look at verse 15. You might be surprised at what the very next verse says. It says, and the Lord said to Moses, why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. That's interesting, isn't it? This is immediately after Moses has said to the people, do not be afraid, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Immediately after giving this wonderful word of comfort and hope, God says, tell the children of Israel to go forward. Moses said stand still. God says go forward. But there isn't a contradiction here. When the children of Israel are told to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, what Moses is saying is that God will accomplish your salvation without you needing to do anything. He will do everything necessary to get you out of this difficult situation. All you need to do is trust Him. And that's what verse 15 is about. Verse 15 gives the Israelites the question, will they trust God or not? God says, stand and see. the salvation of the Lord. God is about to do everything necessary to save them out of this very difficult, dark situation. But he tells them, go forward, trust me, and I will give you everything that you need. The Christian life isn't about sitting back and doing nothing. The Israelites here would have completely missed the point if they'd said, well, Moses said, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, so we're gonna sit back on our deck chairs and see what God is going to do. That wasn't the point of what Moses said. The point was, God is going to deal with the Red Sea. God is going to deal with the Egyptian army. All the Israelites need to do is trust, trust in Him. I know I've shared this story before, but I think it perfectly illustrates the message that God is giving to the Israelites here. There was once a recently licensed pilot who was flying his private plane on a cloudy day, and he was not very experienced in landing a plane using just his instruments, but it was so cloudy, he knew he was going to have to. In the end, he radioed into the control tower and he asked them if they could bring him in because he was so lacking in confidence with flying blind in this way. And as the control tower began to give him instructions and he was led deeper into the cloud, he started to get panicky. He started to get afraid and immediately a stern voice came over the radio and said, you just obey instructions. will take care of the obstructions. That's exactly what God is saying to the Israelites here. He's saying, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. I'm going to get rid of the obstructions that you're so terrified about. In the meantime, you obey my instructions. However strange they might seem, however nonsensical they may appear, That is all you need to do. Trust me and I will remove the obstacles out of your path. And that's what God says to us as well. In life, we will be hit with many difficult, unfathomable situations which we cannot explain or understand or necessarily see a way out of. But we don't need to. Our job is to look to Christ. Our job is to listen to him and to obey him wherever that leads us. Bible is very clear. Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't commit adultery. Don't do these things which God hates. And the question is, do we trust God enough to obey those instructions even when the path is cloudy, even when it gets dark? Many don't. Many follow their own heart, follow their own inclinations and reject God and go their own way because they think it's the way of safety. And they find destruction. But God, through scripture, is teaching us, through this story, he's teaching us, the only path of safety is the one which listens to his instructions, which trusts him. And we will see the salvation of the Lord if we keep our eyes fixed on him. That's the story of the wise and the foolish man, isn't it? Remember that parable? Jesus said there was a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And he did it very quickly. He did it very easily. But when the winds and the rains came, it fell down. Unlike the wise man who built his house on the rock. And it was hard labor. It was difficult. But when the storm came, the house stood firm. And Jesus gave the meaning. He said the foolish man was like the person who hears Jesus's words, but doesn't put them into practice. It's like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. But the wise man is like the man who hears Christ's words and builds his life upon them. And when the storms came, his house stood firm. So I hope those few words are an encouragement to us. I don't know what difficulties we might face in the week ahead, big ones or small ones, but regardless, the answer is still the same. Keep your eye fixed on Christ. Listen to him and he will show his salvation, perhaps not in ways you expect, Perhaps not in ways you anticipate, but you can be sure if our eyes are fixed on Him, He will take care of us. That's why I've chosen as our final hymn number 746. 746. Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide, in every change he faithful will remain. Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend, through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Let's stand to sing 746. Devotion be, the cross of grief or pain. Lead to thy goal, to God and man provide. Be an energy change, be grateful every day. Be still, my soul, my first and ending friend. Through your lowly ways lead to a joyful end. ♪ My soul thy God hath undertaken ♪ ♪ To guide the future as he has the past ♪ ♪ Why hope thy confidence when nothing's shaken? ♪ Be still, my soul, await and be still, His voice to open while he dwells below. When we shall be forever with the Lord When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone God, but purest joys may store. Be still, my soul, when change and tears have passed. O take her blessing, we shall meet at last.